September 11, 2011

Well, tonight was a special night at Elevation Boone! We had the great opportunity of worshipping with the actual Elevation band rather than the Boone band. We had Chris Brown, Wade Joye and Mack Brock with us and it was awesomeeee! They rocked the house. I could feel my rib cage moving haha! Don't get me wrong, the Elevation Boone band is great, but there ain't nothin' like the real thing baby.

The music was phenomenal and God was really moving in my heart. I love how Elevation gives me the freedom to worship with my voice loud and my arms raised. It's so comfortable and welcoming there, like a church should be!

Anyway, I wanted to share a little bit of the sermon that Pastor Steven Furtick gave. I was really into it so I thought I'd share the wealth.

He's doing a series right now called "Prodigy in Me" which is about finding the prodigy in you and using your full potential for God. The sermon we heard tonight was geared toward students, but I think it'd really be applicable to anyone.

Here's a little background info:

It was based off chapters 1 and 2 of Nehemiah. In these chapters, Nehemiah had heard that after the exile, Judah was in total destruction and he is very distraught over it. Nehemiah mourns and prays for days that the Lord will hear him and guide the King's hand in Nehemiah's request to rebuild his city after it's destruction. Nehemiah is a cup bearer for the King and goes to ask him if he can rebuild his city. Because of Nehemiah's consistent prayers, the King grants him his requests. Nehemiah, with God's guidance, rebuilds the wall of Jerusalem in only 52 days.

The main lesson of the sermon consisted of 4 main questions to ask yourself.

1. Will you embrace your misery and make it your ministry?

- What makes you miserable? Take that and use it for God's ministry. For example, if you've been through a bad divorce, use your experiences to council those who are going through it too.

-turn your burdens into a blessing, find the positive.

2. Will you exchange your comfort for your calling?

- You need to be willing to sacrifice your comfort zone to be called for His good. Don't be selfish.

- if his hand is on you, nothing you want for his good is impossible

- it's not about angst felt, it's about action took

-this really stood out to me: you want to work for his purpose rather than your preference.

3. Will you put the wrong ones out and let the right ones in?

- the people you surround yourself with make a huge difference. Rid yourself of the toxins in your life.

-The voices in your life determine the choices you make. They need to be Godly voices.

- the people you're around need to be leading you toward God, not away from him.

4. Will you take your stand against the enemies of your God?

-You have to be willing to stand up for God against anyone or any subject, because he is truth.

-we quit too quickly, fight for God and what's right

-anything not sent from God to you is designed to harm you.

Nehemiah stood for his people, for God, took his misery in the destruction of his city and turned it into a blessing. I want to be able to do that with the trials in my life and turn them into a blessing from the Lord.

I think all of these questions are great things to think about and I was really moved by the sermon.

Also, after a few days of thinking and a little bit of drinking and having fun with my friends, I've decided to answer my own blog post - no drinking for me.

I do feel spiritually convicted by it and guilty when I participate in it and who needs that? Not me. I think God's just challenging me and I'm going to live up to it. It's only a year until I'm 21. If I could not drink for the first 18 or s0 years of my life, I can do it for 11 more months. I want to honor God and my parents and myself in everything I do, so that's what I'm aiming for.

I want to live for his purpose - to glorify him

and not my preference - to be involved in sin

So I'm not drinking again until I'm 21, just incase anyone wanted to know! I hope this blog post will give you a little bit of self awareness and reason to think! Love.

September 09, 2011

Well it's 5:01 am, and yes, I am awake THIS EARLY, not staying up this late!

For two of my favorite's, Caroline & Lori's, birthdays, we decided to go to the parkway super early in the morning and catch the sunrise against the beauty of the blue ridge parkway. I know it's going to be incredible, I'll share pictures tomorrow. Living in the mountains is such a gift! Everyday I can't get over how beautiful it is up here. Even though I'm exhausted (I went to bed at 1 last night, yikes!), I think it'll be worth it.

Back to the point of this early morning post...

So, last night I went over to a friend's house to hang out with a group of people. Now, I know I've talked about drinking before on here, but I wanted to again just cause it's an issue that plagues me.

Having a birthday on the young side of the year makes me turn 21 up to even a year later then some of my friends. I won't be 21 until my senior year, which puts me at a disadvantage. I'm the youngest to drink and when all of them are old enough to legally do it, I'll still be waiting.

Being raised a Christian has brought up a lot of hard battles with drinking, so I want ya'll's opinion if you want to give it.

As a Christian, I don't think drinking is bad, I don't think the bible ever says drinking is wrong and I'm not ashamed to say that I do drink. I drank last night and I enjoyed it.

The thing that the bible says is wrong, is getting drunk. There's a big difference between drinking with some friends and getting so hammered that you're puking in your bathroom at 3 in the morning from too many shots.

I feel like college is all about defining boundaries for Christians. Defining the boundary for "how far is too far", defining how much drinking is too much, defining the boundary of how involved to be with christian friends vs. being friends those who really need a Christian influence. When are you crossing the line in these situations?

I think that drinking is one of the hardest things (other than sex) to determine a boundary for. Born and raised Baptist, drinking has always seemed SO taboo to me. Every time I drink, even if I'm just drinking barely anything while watching a chick flick with some girlfriends, I feel SO guilty about it. It seriously eats away at me.

I lay there in my bed when I'm by myself and question why I drank in the first place. I also start questioning ...why I'm even questioning,... "is drinking even wrong?"

As some of you know, my parents are pretty anti-drinking. We grew up in an alcohol free zone. I really never saw it in our kitchen unless my Mom wanted to make Chicken Marsala or the occasional Kalhua cake.

But lately, my parents have started to loosen up a bit. Their kids are all in their twenties now, 20-24, and it's become more of our decision. They know that if they drink, they're not setting a bad example for us because we are old enough to decide for ourselves. But they really don't drink that much anyway, less than any other parents I know.

What I'm wondering is, what do ya'll think about drinking? What do you think about underage drinking? What do you think about drinking and Christianity?

Is it wrong? I have trouble deciding. I'm indecisive in all aspects of my life, so when it comes to big stuff likes this, I really can't choose.

I enjoy drinking and I like having fun with my friends, but I hate the guilt that comes with it. I want to be able to do it and have fun without praying the whole night afterward for God to forgive me for it.

Any Input?

...Well, that's my 2 cents for this early morning! It's finally the weekend and I'm going to go watch the sun rising against the Appalachian Mountains!

September 06, 2011

I felt it nip at my nose, the air that signified the new season, crisp, cozy and full of life. Unhinged leaves crunched against the sidewalk and the sun was barely waking behind the periwinkle clouds. I walked in the doorway, grabbing my hat, hair blowing in a blonde frenzy, and immediately the pulse of the city faded into oblivion behind the glass windows. I felt the warmth hit my flushed cheeks and heard the faint sound of jazz filter into my ears. I found my place in the back of the line and stood at the end of the short human snake that wound itself around the shelf of porcelain mugs and tightly bound bundles of whole coffee beans. The customers in front of me glanced at the well-memorized menu, trying to open their still tired eyes. The baristas we’re welcoming, smiling despite the hour, in their green aprons and ball caps. I closed my eyes for a split second and allowed myself to smell my favorite scents of autumn. I caught the fragrance of cinnamon, freshly baked treats, rich mocha and hazelnut in the air like a seasonal melody, in perfect harmony with their caffeinated undertones. It swirled around me like the falling foliage outside the store and the welcoming scents found their way into the fabric of my peacoat and thick wool scarf. My leather boots were hard on the tile floor and I tapped my foot to the subtle saxophone that played through the speakers. I placed my order and observed the surrounding tables; freshly inked newspapers resting in a fold, quiet conversations muttered in the corner, plush plum armchairs cuddling close around their early morning occupants. “Tall, Caramel Machiatto and pumpkin scone for Laura!” I grabbed my drink, twisted it until the opening faced my eager lips and took in the deliciousness. The heat made it’s way into my stomach, startled my senses and brightened my mood. It was New York, it was autumn, and I was drinking Starbucks.

This is a prose assignment I had to do about detail. It had to be about a place we new very well and it could only be up to 350 words... I obviously have autumn, NYC and starbucks on the brain!

September 05, 2011

“IT WAS ONE OF THOSE PERFECT ENGLISH AUTUMNAL DAYS
WHICH OCCUR MORE FREQUENTLY IN MEMORY THAN IN LIFE…”

AUTHOR P.D. JAMES

Autumn gives us every opportunity to live an authentic life. Yet how easy it is to miss the little things in the pursuit of a “perfect” life! An authentic life is made up of recognizing beautiful moments in an imperfect world. We must discipline ourselves to linger even for a moment on those things so they will become emblazoned in our memory like a snapshot in a tattered scrapbook.

About Me

If you read this you'll find that my life consists of the emptying and refilling of coffee cups. In between the caffeine I like to embrace the creativity God gave me and share it with you all!
Whether fashion, work, play, life, or love (if I'm lucky), it'll all be here for you to read. In 6 shorts months I'll be shipping up to Boston to start a new big girl chapter of my life as a copywriter in the advertising industry.
I'm a little bit sarcastic, a little bit witty, and a little bit little. Long story short, I'm a short girl with a long story!

Don't you love New York in the fall? It makes me wanna buy school supplies. I would send you a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils if I knew your name and address. On the other hand, this not knowing has its charms.